Balance Hybrid Electric

Azure Dynamics has delivered the 1,000th Balance hybrid electric, to Purolator Courier, its largest customer, which has 555 of them.

Azure Dynamics (TSX:Toronto) has delivered its 1,000th Balance hybrid electric, to Purolator Courier, its largest customer, which now has 555 of the parallel drive vehicles.

The 1,000th Balance truck represents Purolator’s 200th received in 2011, as part of a 600-unit order to be delivered over a three-year period. Purolator currently operates 555 of the trucks, out of a total fleet of some 3,500 vehicles. An additional 200 units is slated for delivery this year, and another 200 in 2013, Azure says, subject to annual authorizations.

“Working alongside Azure Dynamics has helped Purolator to consistently deliver industry leading on-time service and reliability to our customers in a sustainable manner,” Purolator president and CEO Tom Schmitt says in a Azure release. In 2005, Purolator was the first express transportation company in Canada to introduce hybrid electric vehicles, Azure says.

The Balance hybrids for Purolator are integrated by Azure on a Ford E-450 chassis with a Ford 5.4-liter gasoline engine. The hybrid electric drive features engine-off at idle and below 20 miles per hour, and electronically supports key ancillary functions like power steering and braking. It “is ideally suited for commercial activity in urban environments,” Azure says.

Azure says it’s the world’s leading provider of hybrid electric powertrain solutions in the Class 2c-5 medium-duty commercial hybrid truck sector, with a market share of approximately 50%.